VIRTUALLY every single person in Northern Ireland is reigning in his or her spending, a consumer index says.
Some 94 per cent of consumers who responded to the 12th edition of the EY Future Consumer Index (FCI) say they are worried about the rise of living costs as they continue to navigate inflation.
Affordability is also a leading concern, increasing by 10 percentage points to 35 per cent since last October, with increases in the cost of groceries, energy and fuel being significant worries.
And more than half (55 per cent) say brands are no longer important, three in 10 say they have switched to own-labels and half consider private labels for clothing, shoes and accessories.
EY Northern Ireland managing partner Rob Heron says: “Our latest index reveals that cost of living and financial and health pressures are taking precedence with consumers, while more altruistic concerns for the planet or society are not being prioritised to the same degree.
“Value for money emerges as the key areas of focus for consumers from the report, something we know is a significant issue of concern here in Northern Ireland.
“Consumers across all income bands are more frugal in their spending, with almost two thirds reporting that private label products satisfy their needs just as well as branded products (65 per cent) or can help them save money (63 per cent).”
He added: “While customers continue to focus on value and are cost-conscious, we are also seeing that some groups are continuing to prioritise holidays, with almost four in ten (38 per cent) higher income consumers intending to spend more in this area over the coming months.
“The focus on affordability is also helping to drive sustainable behaviours, with large majorities of consumers indicating that they prefer to repair rather than replace items (67 per cent), are recycling or repurposing products after use (79 per cent,) and are switching to sustainable alternatives in the products they purchase (60 per cent).
“We are seeing the prioritisation of affordability and health being reported by consumers irrespective of age, income profile or location, demonstrating that these are wider macro-trends as consumers globally continue to deal with the lingering impact of the pandemic, supply chain disruption and inflationary issues and ongoing geopolitical uncertainty.”
The index also showed that technology is increasingly embedded into consumer’s lives, in everything from online grocery shopping (46 per cent) to finding recipes online (61 per cent).
But data theft and security breaches are an issue of concern for a majority of respondents, most notably ID theft, data/security breaches or downloading a virus.
